When the Cows Come Home
by xxBakaAkki
Summary: *ON HIATUS* Just a normal average day right? Wrong. It all starts with one inoccent discovery made by Ran. Does she finally have the proof to solve the Conan/Shinichi mystery? Can she get to him before the BO? I suck at summaries.
1. Prologue

Hey guys! I'm really excited to have actually taken the time to sit down and friggin' write something for once!

Not sure what I'll be having planned for this come later chapters so I'm always open for suggestions ;3

Enjoy!

**_Disclaimer_**- I don't own Detective Conan, Gosho-sama does :3

--

**When the Cows Come Home**

_Prologue_

Ran paid little attention to her actions as she went about her normal, everyday routine of prepping for the school day. Another Monday and the beginning of another week of note taking, studying, tests, and… her mind thought back to the many times when, during class, she had glanced behind her to the uninhabited desk in the row adjacent to her own. She sighed out loud allowing her head to drop a bit and her arm, with brush in hand, to pause in her daily ministration of brushing her hair.

It had been at least a month and a half since she had last seen him at that restaurant before he once again disappeared with only a message he left with Conan to pass on to her. _'Shinichi'_ her mind wandered to the oh-so familiar name whose face she so longed to see once again. The occasional phone call was appreciated; she was happy that he would take time out of his 'busy schedule' to fit in a phone call to her. But there was always that longing passion to just stand by his side and to watch him as he solved his cases with that determined look on his face. It had always given her the courage she needed to get though the difficult times she faced every time she thought back to that image of him.

She resumed the process of vanquishing the tangles from her hair before she looked up into the mirror. Much to her surprise, not only were her eyes watered up but there was the glistening trail of what had been a tear down the side of her face. After a moment of mental silence she raised her arm to clear away the watery build up that obstructed her vision. The feeling of the soft, silk pajama sleeve making contact with her sensitive cheeks only urged her to break down and cry into it. She knew it would have relieved her for the time being but instead decided to suck it up.

She straightened herself up and slapped her cheeks making a very childish pouting face at her reflection in the mirror. She inhaled and exhaled deeply as she reached down for her toothbrush.

'_Not today Ran. Today will be a good day. You keep doing this to yourself. The more you think about _him_ the worse you feel. It's your life and you need to be able to stay standing even if something tries to knock you down.'_ Ran's 'mental coach' told her as she vigorously brushed her teeth. She hadn't noticed but the more she lectured herself the faster and harder she began brushing until she went to spit out in the sink. The foaming liquid was dyed a bright red color and only after she saw it did she notice the stinging pain around her gums.

She decided it would be best for her to skip out on the mouthwash for today. The thought of the tear-jerking liquid coming in contact with her sore and exposed gums made her stifle a shudder.

As she walked to her room she had stopped by her father's door to quickly listen to the bit of activity on the other side. Seems he had just woken up and was getting his things together. She then trudged back to her room to get herself prepared for the day.

As she pulled her school uniform out of the drawers next to her desk, she glanced up at the calendar. It had totally slipped her mind due to her earlier coaching in the bathroom but the red circle around the date had reminded her that today was, once again, cleaning day for the Kudou residence. A faint smiled brushed her lips as she shot a quick glance to the picture on her desk. A happy pair smiled back at her: one she recognized but had failed to see so happy in quite a while and the other she had just plain failed to see.

She forced her thoughts elsewhere as she focused upon the task at hand. Once the task of removing her silky blue pajamas was completed she slipped into her navy uniform, the emblem marking her enrollment to her local high school, Teitan High.

Grabbing her school bag she trotted merrily down the hall heading towards the open living room area. Along the way she paused once again in front of her father's bedroom and rapped on the door twice before calling out in a sweet tone.

"Conan-kun? Are you up yet?" She didn't have to wait long for a reply, although, she wasn't sure if it could be really considered a reply but more of a sound of recognition.

"U….un…" she heard a low groggy voice echo from the hard wooden door. She gave a silent giggle as she thought about the many times she had heard the same unenthusiastic reply repeated to her each morning. Although it had always seemed he would be awake long enough to actually be _mentally_ awake, he never perked up until he had had his breakfast… just like _him_.

She was about ready to mentally slap herself once again for the bounce back onto _that_ topic. It wasn't like she was trying to totally remove any thought of him from her mind but rather focus her thoughts on a wider range of things in her life because, obviously, boys wasn't really the only thing going on in her life.

She pushed open the door that led to the open-air staircase and took a few steps down before reaching the next door that led to the homely detective agency that she, her father, and their house guest, Conan, called home.

Much _not_ to her surprise her father was in a drunken slumber on his desk. A small pile of drool had been collecting under his partially open mouth. The television was still on but the volume had been turned down low as not to disturb him. Ran glided over, trash bag in hand, to turn off the device and sweep up the empty beer cans that littered the desk and floor space around it.

She paused briefly to gaze out the window at the grey, clouded sky. "Oh I do hope it doesn't rain." She allowed the phrase to escape her lips in a half whisper half grumble to herself. She never really liked walking to and from school in the rain. The splashing from the puddles caused her socks to absorb the moisture and make walking in shoes an uncomfortable experience.

Tying off the garbage bag and setting it in the corner by the door she made her way to the kitchen. There was still a good hour before it was time to _leave_ for school so she had plenty of time to make a nice, sit-down breakfast for them as well as bentos for lunch.

As she happily stirred the scrambled eggs in the sauce pan, she heard the door to the detective agency click shut and glanced over in time to see a small boy around the age of eight hop backwards up onto the sofa opposite the door. As he yawned he covered his mouth with one hand while the other reached up towards the ceiling stretching.

Ran separated the eggs onto three plates along with buttered toast and half an orange. Knowing her father, he wouldn't be awake until long after they had left for school so she wrapped it up in plastic wrap and set it in the fridge sticking a reminder note to the door telling her father there was a _real_ meal in there for him. She took the remaining plates and set one upon the coffee table next to the boy who was now entertaining himself by reading a Shonen Jump magazine while she kept the other for herself.

"Thank you, Ran-neechan." He chirped up as the meal was delivered right in front of him. They sat in silence as they both munched away before Ran swallowed and looked at Conan.

"Today Sonoko and I are going over to Shinichi's house to clean up again. Would you like to come?" Ran extended the invitation to him knowing before what his reply would be. He nodded twice, unable to speak due to the fact he was still chewing on his breakfast.

"So I'll meet you outside your school, kay"?

"Un!" He said after swallowing the remaining toast in his mouth.

From there, Ran returned the emptied plates to the kitchen sink before grabbing her stuff and heading out the door with a patiently waiting Conan. They then parted ways as Conan's energetic friends were seen waving at him from a bit ways away.

'_I'll see you after school then… Conan-kun.'_ She smiled to herself before going on her way.

_Continued…_

--

'Un' 'Yeah' (Please you should really know this one I hope but for all you lame-o people who don't understand an ounce of Japanese, there ya go.)

--

_**A/N:**_ Well, I kinda hurried to get this one out there . I should have taken a bit more time but I just wanting to describe their morning a bit… oh yeah and the whole story won't be in Ran's POV I swear XD

Be prepared for some action next chapter when Ran finds a bit of evidence that will finally prove the connection between Conan and Shinichi, but will she be able to get to him on time to give him his properly deserved walloping? You'll just have to wait till I get my lazy butt into gear to actually think about how I'll go about typing this up! (No I'll try to get it done and it'll hopefully be longer than the prologue.)

PS Reviews really feed that writers passion in me so fuel the ovens onegai! Lockie (If you wanna help me brainstorm or just talk to me, contact me via email, aim, msn, or skype!)


	2. Envelope

**When the Cows Come Home**

_Chapter 1_

"Eh? Really? That was today? I totally forgot!" Ran let her head fall to her desk with a thud.

"Does that mean you didn't study?" Sonoko crossed her arms over her chest, looking at her disapprovingly.

"No, I studied. I just forgot that today we'd be getting out early. Remember? Today we're supposed to go to Shinichi's." Ran sweat dropped as she saw a look of disgust form on her friend's face.

"Why are we going over there again? Ugggg, and why is it a big deal _when_ we go?" Sonoko made several overly exaggerated hand gestures to show her detest.

"It's because I told _Conan-kun_ I'd meet him after school. He was gonna come with us."

Sonoko heaved a heavy sigh. "Well then, just send the glasses brat a message on his phone. Tell him just to go over there himself because we're getting out early from testing." Before Ran could express her disapproval, Sonoko continued. "I don't want to be there all day cleaning. Why should we wait for him anyways? It's not like he'll make a huge difference." Ran seemed to think about the statement before deciding that she was probably right.

"Fine. I'll tell him." She sighed as she whipped out her phone and began to send him a text message. She finished just as the bell rang and their teacher came in through the sliding door.

"All right, everyone! I hope you studied long and hard 'cause you're gonna need it for these tests!" The entire class groaned in unison. Ran's mind, on the other hand, was focused on a different subject.

--

_BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!_

Most of the kids had already begun packing up and bolted through the door the moment the bell rang. Only a select few stayed behind to chat with their friends.

"Finally! It's Friday. I'm beat," Genta said and leaned back in his chair. For a first grader like him, a Friday full of music class, PE, and art was enough to make him call it a day. Conan mentally laughed at the thought.

"What are we gonna do now? How about we go play at the park?" Ayumi perked up, standing next to Genta's desk with her backpack on.

"Sorry guys. I'm gonna have to pass on this one. I have to meet Ran-neechan somewhere." Conan gave a sorry smile and shrugged.

"What about you Ai-chan?" Ayumi merrily turned to her other friend.

"Pass." She said with her typical _enthusiasm_.

Ayumi looked a little let down after hearing that two of her best friends wouldn't be able to hang out after all. Genta and Mitsuhiko both glared down on Conan, disgusted that he turned down Ayumi's offer. Ugggg they really were a nuisance.

"Ahh, but if you want we can all hang out tomorrow," he quickly added in before the largest of the bunch came down on him like a hammer. Ayumi suddenly switched from her regret filled expression to her usual bright and cheery one.

"Really?" She said exasperatedly. "That sounds great! So how about noon at the park? We can all go for ice cream too!" She appeared to be thinking up a whole list of things for them to do, by the way she was staring off at the ceiling.

Conan mentally sighed. _'This girl has that natural ability to swoon men. She's going to be a natural player when she gets into high school…' _The thought kind of scared him so he cut off his thoughts and returned to the present.

"Well, I gotta be going now guys. See ya!" He waved behind him. Haibara was close on his heels.

"See you tomorrow, Conan-kun! Ai-chan!" Ayumi said once more as they closed the sliding door behind them.

--

_Earlier…_

"No matter how many times I come here and how many times I see it, it will always baffle me how many mystery books there are in here!" Sonoko threw her arms up, flailing them about. Ran just laughed. It was true that there were _a lot_ of books in this room. She put extra emphasis on _a lot._ She had asked Shinichi once how many there are. He laughed and said he'd lost count after reading so many.

Jeez… what a mystery freak.

"Well, better get started while the day is still young." Sonoko rolled up her sleeves and wielded a feather duster like a sword. She gave out a battle cry and charged at the large wall of books.

"Hey, remember to start at the top and work your way down." Ran reminded her friend, who had proceeded to slap the duster against the books. Ran sweat dropped. Sonoko had never really had a knack for house cleaning, seeing as she never had to do any herself.

Ran shrugged it off and turned her attention to the desk area.

"_What's your name?"_

"_My name is Shin- no I mea-"_

"_Hm?"_

"_Uh, umm umm… Conan! M-my name is Edogawa Conan!"_

'…_. That's right… this is where I first met him.'_ Ran stood to the left of the desk, staring down upon the spot where she had first encountered the peculiar child.

It wasn't long, though, before something sparked her interest. For a moment she wasn't sure if her eyes were playing tricks on her, so she bent down for a closer look. She let out a surprised gasp as she read the spines of the books.

Two books side-by-side, one by Arthur Conan Doyle and the other by Edogawa Ranpo.

'_Edogawa… Conan…'_ her eyes narrowed at the new discovery. _'Perhaps… perhaps it really is…'_

"Oi! Ran!" Ran's heart jumped when as she was brought back into reality. She turned to see her friend dangling from the ladder, hanging on for dear life. "Ahaha…. I slipped. Can you give me a hand here?"

Ran sighed and proceeded in assisting her friend out of her predicament. She decided to finish up the library before she did a bit more digging into her current question. She was once again back on high alert.

It didn't take them much longer to clean out the library before they agreed to split up. Sonoko would take care of the rooms downstairs and Ran would handle the bedrooms upstairs. Of those, Shinichi's room was included. Perfect. She knew it wouldn't be right to snoop but she was damned determined to find that evidence.

Ran let out a deep sigh as she leaned her back against a wall. She had been at it for almost a whole hour now and she wasn't able to find a single clue. She also thought it was a bit odd how clean the house already was. I mean, really, there wasn't a single thing out of place. The toilet paper was stacked up into two perfect columns of three and the towels were folded like how you'd see them in some fancy hotel room. She decided to give it up for the moment and continue on with her tidying.

Nearly done with his room, she turned her attention to the last place to dust: his desk. As she drew nearer her eyes caught onto something sitting on it and a wave of nostalgia hit her. Although she had the same exact picture on her desk, this just wasn't the same. This picture was _his_. The match to her own. Together they became like a friendship locket.

She stared at the two people behind the glass. One was crouched lower down with the other standing behind her making peace signs with his hands. She was unaware of a single tear that escaped her watery eyes. It wasn't until it dripped onto the glassy surface that she noticed and proceeded to dry her eyes on her sleeve.

It wasn't the first time she'd gotten a bit emotional after thinking about the past, and it sure as hell wouldn't be the last.

She tilted the frame a bit to watch the droplet roll down its slick surface and collect in the crevice between the frame and glass. It took a few seconds but it suddenly clicked. She had been so focused on the picture itself that she failed to note the entire thing as a whole. There wasn't any dust on the picture's glass.

Now that the idea was fresh in her mind, she also noted what appeared to be finger prints on the surface of the desk right above the first drawer. Curiosity at its highest, she pulled open the drawer to check on its contents. She was a bit disappointed to see just a few basic office supplies such as tape, sticky notes, pens, etc. She shuffled the things around to see if anything was buried beneath them. She was pleasantly surprised to find a little black tab sticking up from one of the edges of the drawer. Now that she thought of it, the drawer did seem a lot bigger from the outside than it looked from inside.

She gave a delicate yet determined little yank, and the entire bottom of the drawer lifted up. Ran felt like a treasure hunter as they'd finally found what they were searching for. Beneath, she found a stack of papers. The ones closer to the bottom seemed to be much older than those above them. On the top of the entire stack was an envelope with the English word "Diagnosis" written on it.

The title wasn't beyond her understanding, but it still puzzled her. _'A diagnosis? Of what…?'_ She delicately lifted the flap and pulled out the neatly folded papers. Her eyes quickly scanned the papers, taking in all the details. The more she read, the larger her eyes got.

"No way…."

--

"So?"

Conan arched an eyebrow at his friend. "So…. What?"

"Anything new happen between you and her?"

The question seemed to come out of nowhere but his face showed no signs of surprise; though it did adopt a redder tint.

"Pshh. Just the same old. Ran heckling me here and there and Oji-san continuing to be an ignoramus. Really, you'd think he'd take a hint and start to straighten himself out with all the clients he gets because of me." He crossed his arms and shook his head.

Haibara smiled quickly before returning her focus forward.

Both of them looked up as the western style home, as well as the professor's house, were coming into view.

"Ah, yes, Kudo-kun, just so you know I put a letter in your-" Haibara was cut off by the screeching of tires behind them. They both turned but it was too late.

Everything happened so fast, giving them no time to react. A black van opened up. Two men, one muscular with a serious face and the other a little skinnier, dressed in black from head to toe, leapt out. The larger grabbed Conan from behind. The other pointed a gun towards Haibara.

Paralyzed by fear, she watched as a white cloth was placed over Conan's mouth and he slowly went from struggling to limp. She suddenly came to and began to run towards Conan. She knew it would be useless, but she had to try, right? Bad choice. It seemed that the skinny one with the gun had been saying something to her but she was blind to his words. Before she knew it, she had suddenly stopped moving. Her chest felt warm and finally her sense of hearing was coming back.

She heard dripping and looked down. Her once tan shirt was slowly giving way to the increasing crimson stain near her abdomen. She felt faint and disordered as her vision began to double. Only moments later she found herself on the ground, curled up and clutching her wound.

"Damn it! You weren't supposed to actually use the gun!" She faintly heard the larger grunt yell.

"B-but-" The other one looked a bit pale and panicked. Perhaps he was new to this business?

"Forget it! We gotta book it before anyone sees us."

"But the kid?"

"Who cares. Even though she saw our faces, she's a goner now." He gave a wicked smirk and hopped into the back of the van, Conan tucked under his arm.

Haibara watched helplessly as the van sped off in the opposite direction from which it came. To her discontent, the position she landed in didn't allow her to be able to read the license plate. Funny, she was more worried about that than the growing pool of crimson surrounding her.

'_Haha…. Look what you've gotten yourself into. They weren't planning on killing you so it was useless to waste your life like that.' _She gave one last weary smile before she faded away into a pleasant dream.

_Continued..._

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

**_Yay! I finally got this out for you people! And I think I left a pretty good cliff hanger there if I do say so myself :3_**

**_I hope this satisfies you for the moment. I'm working on the next chapter for Kindred but I got stuck so that's why I haven't finished it up yet ^^'_**

_**Thanks once again to** Hela Kaede **for editing this~! Love ya so much :D**_

Also: I have a poll on my page asking which story you guys enjoy the most. It'd help if you voted on it so I know which one to update the most :3


	3. Bloodshot

**When the Cows Come Home**

_Chapter 2_

"Why are we going to Agasa-hakase's again?" Mitsuhiko asked his friend.F

"Well, Ai-chan seemed a bit melancholy so I thought we could go and cheer her up," Ayumi said thoughtfully, putting her finger to her chin.

_'She always looks that way,'_ both Genta and Mitsuhiko thought simultaneously.

As the three turned the corner they froze in their tracks. It took them a few seconds before they were able to take in the whole picture. Haibara was lying on the ground...

...surrounded by a large pool of blood. Ayumi's scream pierced the silence and brought the other two back to reality.

Mitsuhiko rushed to Haibara's side while Genta tried to get Ayumi to stop screaming.

"Haibara-san! Haibara-san!" He shook her shoulders delicately.

No response.

He felt his chest tighten as her bangs shifted to reveal her cold, pale face. With shaky hands he reached down and placed two of his fingers on her neck, just under her jaw.

He let out the breath he had been holding as he felt a pulse. It was weak, but not gone. With that, he whipped out his phone and dialed for an ambulance.

------------------------------------------------------------

_'Why?'_ Ran asked herself for the uptenth time in the past half hour. She slowly made her way down the old wooden stairs, eyes dodging left and right as if reading some imaginary manuscript hovering just in front of her. Being an easy target for stressing herself out, she knew she would be needing a few excedrin when she returned home.

Home.

He would be there.

She felt an involuntary shiver go up her spine. How would she confront this? How would she confront him? She absent-mindedly chewed the tip of her thumbnail.

Deeply lost in thought and all senses failing her, she hadn't noticed how close to the edge of the step she was. Then that sudden prickling feeling appeared in her head. She watched her vision go from stairs to ceiling. It wasn't until a few seconds after she stopped that the flooding sensation of blood traveling to the back of her head hit her. She automatically placed her hand over it, putting pressure on it. Boy, did that sting.

"Ran! Ran you all right?!" She distantly heard her friend calling her name as she rushed to her side from the kitchen. Ran let out a slight groan before Sonoko helped prop her up.

"Y-yeah." She took a deep breath, which seemed to release a bit of the pain as she exhaled. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. I just wasn't paying attention and I slipped." Not a lie.

She laughed it off and rubbed the spot on the back of her head where it felt as if it were throbbing.

"Jeez. You're such an airhead," Sonoko sighed. "Here. Let me take a look."

Reluctantly, Ran removed her hand and turned so the back of her head was visible to Sonoko. Her friend brushed her hair back a bit, making Ran wince at the touch and make a slight hissing sound.

"Ouch. That's gonna leave a bruise. Come on. Let's get back to your place so we can put some ice on it." She offered a hand, which Ran took gratefully, pulling herself up. Sonoko began to walk towards the door. She peeked over her shoulder to see Ran staring down at her feet, a very confused, if not worried, expression on her face.

"Ran?" No response. "Yo, Ran," she called, a bit more forcefully. Her head snapped up, a look of surprise replacing her previous one. Sonoko raised an eyebrow "You sure you're all right? I can call an ambulance to carry you away if you feel you're gonna keel over." She smirked as she saw a light blush tint Ran's cheeks.

"I-I'm perfectly all right. I was just thinking," she countered, crossing her arms and puffing out her chest a bit. Sonoko shrugged and continued advancing towards the entrance way.

"Sure sure. Hurry up or you're walking home on your own." Ran trotted up to her friend's side, not quite cleared of thoughts but a bit better. At least now she was smiling.

Locking the front door followed by the front gate, they followed the sidewalk around the corner, only to find the road blocked by a few police cars and an ambulance.

"Hey, Ran." Sonoko jabbed her in the side with her elbow. "I think they're here for you," she joked, making Ran's face adopt a redder hue.

Ran averted her attention back to the scene in front of her, taking careful note that there were three children standing near the side of the ambulance. Three _very_ familiar children. But Sonoko beat her to it.

"Hey, aren't those the glasses brat's friends?" There was actually a hint of worry wavering in her voice. Both girls turned and made eye contact, each face mirroring the other's grim expression. Without another word they both half-jogged, half-sprinted towards the scene, until a police officer stopped them. They assured him that they knew the children and he let them pass with a solemn nod.

"Ayumi-chan!" As Ran drew near the girl's side, she looked up from the child's hands, where her face was previously buried. Her face was flushed, her eyes red from crying, and her cheeks were stained with tear streaks. Ran found a lump caught in her throat. _'Surely it wasn't...'_

"A-Ayumi-chan. What happened here?" The girl sniffled and was silent for a few seconds before she slowly shook her head. It seemed more like trying to shake something from her memory rather than an answer. Ran turned her eyes towards the two boys standing next to her. Their heads were hung and faces paled. She suddenly couldn't find the words to speak, a dread growing inside her.

What seemed like an hour passed before the tall stick-like boy, Mitsuhiko, piped up.

"Haibara-san.... she was shot." All it took were those words to remind her of what she had been trying to forget, and Ayumi started up again, burying her face into her hands once more. Mitsuhiko continued.

"We found her l-lying here. Sh-she was covered in b-b-blood." His voice wavered and he looked as if he were on the verge of tears, himself. "They said she's in bad condition... and they don't know... if she'll make it... to the hospital in time." His fists were clenched tight enough for the blood to have drained, making his knuckles white.

Although the news was quite startling, Ran couldn't help but release the breath she didn't know she was holding. _'So it wasn't _him_...'_

The paramedics closed the back doors to the ambulance and roared down the narrow streets, screeching sirens slowly becoming fainter with each passing moment.

_'Wait. Ai-chan... _he_ usually walks with her.'_ Ran's heart skipped a beat at the realization. _'Where is he?'_

"Hey. Have you guys seen.... Conan-kun?' Her voice faltered a bit as she spoke his 'name'. All three of them looked up at her with innocent, questioning eyes, before shaking their heads simultaneously. For a moment, Ran felt oblivious to the world; like she could see all that was going on, but was not a part of it. A flood of emotions began to fall upon her already-aching heart. Her mind couldn't bring itself to decide whether she was angry at him for lying or worried from the fact that he was apparently missing.

"Ran-neechan." Ayumi's childish voice brought Ran back into the world of the living. She turned to meet her eyes. She looked quite distressed and pale, which seemed odd on her youthful face. She forced herself to stop crying so she would be able to speak properly.

"I-I want to go... wait for Ai-chan to wake up.... will... will you walk with me?" Ayumi shuffled her feet anxiously. Genta and Mitsuhiko declared they were going as well. Ran looked over to Sonoko, searching for her opinion.

"I can't. I've got a date with my chemistry notes." She waved her hand in front of her face with an exasperated look on her face. "Don't you forget to study as well!"

Mockingly, she bopped Ran on the nose with her index finger and went on her way, but not before turning back with a more serious expression. "Let me know how the kid's doing later, 'kay?" Ran nodded solemnly and began walking the opposite direction, the kids following close behind.

------------------------------------------------------------

_'It's too bright...'_ was the first thing that came to Ai's exhausted mind. She felt like shit, to say the least. Shit that had been trampled on. Her sense of hearing was the next to return to her. There was the monotonous sound of beeping that seemed to echo in her eardrums, aiding to her already terrible headache. She sucked in a deep breath of air, only to break into a coughing fit. Damn was her throat dry...

"....." _'Huh?'_ Her coughing ceased and she could begin to hear noises in the background. At first, just an echo, but it slowly became louder and clearer until words, then sentences, sprouted up from the low rumble of noise.

"Ah!... think... coming to... get... doctor..." It was distinctly a female's voice. Older, but not adult. Summoning up her weakened will power, Ai forced her way back into the present world of light. She blinked off the burning sensation in the back of her retinas, allowing her vision to clear up. Using her original deduction of where she was by that oh-so familiar beeping sound, she tied it together with what she saw. She was currently half-sitting, half-laying in a bed, undoubtedly a hospital bed, surrounded by off-white walls and metallic machines she recognised from her days as a scientist.

Now becoming more aware of another presence in the room, she turned her head to investigate. Her eyes suddenly widened and her poker face dropped. _'O-oneechan?'_ Slowly the image of her sister warped into the familiar figure of Ran. _'That girl.'_ Her face returned to its usual indifferent gaze as she half-glared at her. Ever since she had first met Mouri Ran, her presence had always rubbed her the wrong way. Way too perky, highly emotional, motherly... beautiful... oneechan... She abruptly turned to stare at the closed window, unable to handle the sight of her any longer. There was something about that girl that brought back those painful memories.

"Ai-chan?" Her 'name' seemed to roll from Ran's mouth like a delicate wave, drawing Ai's eyes slowly back to her. "How are you feeling?" Again, the sight of her brought about a wave of nausea, but she held it back. If she weren't a scientist, she would have sworn this girl was other-worldly, or something God had stuck into her life so she would never forget her past. If it was the latter, damn them.

Ran grimaced at the motherly smile plastered on Ai's face. Wait, plastered? She made notes of her key facial features. Yep. Definitely a mask. So what was really going on in that head of hers? Ran glanced behind her, noticing the door was ajar. She stood and briskly made her way towards, it putting her hand on the knob. There was a loud bang as she slammed the door, making Ai jump slightly and stare at the girl's back. She stood there for a moment before slowly pivoting. Ai couldn't hold back a shudder as she made eye contact with a now pissed-looking teenage Ran. If she could have, Ai would have shrunken away with each step the girl took nearer to her. Now standing at her bedside, she lifted a water bottle from the small table and held it in front of Ai's face.

"Drink," she said coldly. Ai blinked, dumbfounded, but obediently took possession of the bottle. She _was_ thirsty, after all. Pushing herself up into a more comfortable sitting position, she felt fire shooting up from the nerves in her abdomen. _'Ah. That's right... I got shot.'_ Her eyes widened for a split second, but it was long enough for Ran to catch the slip up in her mask.

"Now. You're gonna tell me what happened, right?" There was a smile on her face, but it was anything but a friendly one. It was that face she put on when Shinichi did something to piss her off, right when she was about to thwack him upside the head. Feeling a wave of obstinance building up in her, she glanced down at the water bottle, which she was tipping idly back and forth in her hands.

"No." She flatly put out with no emotion in her voice. A small smirk found itself upon her face as she saw the corner of Ran's lips twitch. _'I'm acting like such a child.'_

She let out heavy sigh, letting the bottle fall onto her lap.

"What would I gain from not telling you? It'd be stupid of me not to tell anyone." Ran leaned forward on her toes, obviously a bit interested to hear it was story time.

"But... that's not what you wanted to ask me. Is it?" Ai inquired, and was not surprised at the girl's startled and flustered reaction. She hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

"W-what is your connection... to Kudo Shinichi?" Ran chose her words carefully. Ai's eyebrow perked up, but her expression remained steady and solid. She was curious to know where this was coming from. She decided to go the route of innocence.

"I've never met the guy, so how could I have a connection to him?" She shrugged softly to avoid moving any muscles in the region of her abdomen. Ran's face turned to a scowl as she reached into her pocket and waved an envelope in front of her face.

"Then I guess what's written in here is just a prank then?" Ai immediately recognised the writing as her own. Her eyebrow twitched ever so slightly.

"And when did you make it a habit to sneak into others' houses and go through their stuff?" she commented dryly, making Ran's face flush with both added frustration and a little embarrassment.

Ran's eyes narrowed. "So you _do_ know something." She put her hands on her hips. There was definitely an I'm-pissed-off tone to her voice, so Haibara thought it in her best interest not to poke fun at the gullible girl anymore. Well, not like she'd do anything to her anyways. Physically, for that matter.

"Just who exactly are you? This letter here says that YOU wrote it, and I don't know about you but I've never seen a detailed scientific examination written by a first grader! There's just no way someone you're age should be smart enough to-" She stopped when she realized what she was saying. Slowly, she looked from the letter to the 'girl's' eyes. Haibara returned her gaze with a -somewhat- evil and confirming smirk.

Just as Ran was about to say something (after moving her jaw up and down a few times like a fish), the door clicked open and in came the doctor, a fine, dashing, young man, perhaps early in his career, as well as three of the five Detective Boys.

"Ai-chan!!!" Ayumi was the first to run over to her bedside. The little girl peeked over the side at the faux little girl. "You're ok! Oh my god! I was so worried about you!" Tears were brimming in her soft, azul eyes. Genta and Mitsuhiko joined her by the bedside.

"They said you were in critical condition..." Mitsuhiko noted, looking down solemnly.

"But it's a good thing you found her when you did," the doctor piped in merrily, as he looked over a few papers on his clipboard. "If she had gotten here even 10 minutes later it might have been too late. By the way, I'm your doctor, Mizuruna Hidan," he added in, giving her a friendly smile. He wasn't half bad looking, actually, and he had the angelic, yet strong, voice to match. Ai was curious if he had ever considered acting or modeling. She quickly cast that thought aside as the conversation moved along. Ran glared at her all the while.

"Haibara-san, what exactly happened?" Genta asked, his brows furrowed. Ai twitched in remembrance and Mizuruna-san took note of it, quickly changing the topic.

"Now now. I have to give her another examination to make sure she's moving along to a full recovery." He looked between his clipboard and the monitors of the machines around her before writing something down. "How are you feeling?" he asked without looking at her.

"A little sore. It twinges a bit." She lightly rubbed where she had gotten her stitches. Ran's glare didn't let up for a second and Haibara caught her gaze, sending her another unchildish, demonic grin. Ran couldn't help but shudder.

"Ah. That's probably due to the pain medicine wearing off. Here," he pulled out a syringe from his coat pocket and put a hypodermic needle on the end. "I'll give you a bit more, but it'll make you sleepy." He flicked the end a bit, letting the air bubble float to the top. "I hope you don't mind going to sleep again." he said while injecting the clear liquid into the IV.

Haibara faked a yawn. Ran popped a blood vessel.

"Well then, you can talk to her again when she wakes up later." He began to usher the three children, who moaned in unison, as well as Ran, out the door. "Pleasant dreams, Haibara-san." he said as he closed the door behind himself.

Haibara let out a sigh before slumping down into her bed. Keeping up the innocent act was a lot more challenging than one thought it would be, especially with her personality. She had to refrain from making several sarcastic remarks throughout all of that. Daylight was giving way to night and this time, she covered her mouth as a real yawn forced its way out. _'I'll have to notify Hakase of Kudo-kun's situation... after I wake up.'_ Her breathing became a bit more ragged and uneven. _'Th-there's really nothing... I can do at the moment...'_

She suddenly felt her chest tighten and she let out a loud groan of agony. W-what was going on? Again, her heart felt as if it was being bewitched by some witchdoctor.

This time she grabbed onto her hospital robes just above her heart. The pulse rate machine was going haywire next to her; the beeping only stimulating her hysteria even further, like a drum. She face was pale and she was covered in sweat. Gasping slightly, she looked up to the IV bag.

_'I-it couldn't be...'_ Her heart gave one final lurch and a muffled scream echoed through the nearby hospital rooms.

* * *

_**Bleh. Yeah, I know I really need to update more often :/ But hey! I made up for it by making this chapter 700 words longer than the last (that would mean this one is approx 3100 words)!!!! XD **_

_**And yes. I left you another clif hanger.... AND YOU DON'T GET TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS TILL NEXT YEAR HAHAHAHHAA!!! **_

_**No really. **_

_**I'm totally booked for my winter vacation till I come back for school in January, so till then, sorry. No updates.**_

**_But don't fret! I will probably have planned out what I'm doing for future chapters by then! (which means updates sooner XD)_**

_**NEXT CHAPTER!!!!**_

_**Takagi and Satou make an appearance! Along with Ran they find a mysterious person in Agasa's house! Who is this teenage girl?! And for the love of God, what has become of our dear sweet Conan!!! NEXT TIME: Prints**_

**_THANKS ONCE AGAIN TO MY SUPER DUPER AWESOME FRIEND _**Hela Kaede **FOR EDITING MY STORY!!! CHECK OUT HER DETECTIVE CONAN FANFICS AS WELL!!!**

**_.net/u/1471713/_**


	4. Fingerprints

**When the Cows Come Home**

_Chapter 3_

It really hadn't come into mind when he first become interested in his current profession. He used to watch all those cop and robber shows as a child and one way or another, it left the wrong kind of impression on him. Chase the bad guy, and put him behind bars. Oh, and get the girl.

That was the basic principle he'd brought himself up to believe, as if that were the way it really worked. The only thing is, his naive childish mind forgot the details; although, the latter of those wasn't quite far from his current situation.

There were many more things that filled in the empty gaps. There was research and permits and searching for evidence, fingerprints, and witnesses and certain divisions that take care of certain cases, and blah blah blah.

The young officer sighed as he absentmindedly typed away on his computer. To the left of his keyboard lay a stack of files in a not-so organized manner. The department had recently taken a liking to the new technologies now available and were filling the databases with digital files of all past cases for easier accessing. The trouble was, someone had to do all the work. Namely, Takagi.

"Having fun are we?" Takagi nearly jumped at the sudden voice behind him. He whirled around to face the owner of the feminine voice.

"S-S-S-Satou-san!"

She giggled at the startled look on his face. "Oh, I'm sorry. Were you lost in thought?"

Takagi sweat-dropped.

"This isn't exactly the most entertaining of duties, you know." He eyed the disorganized mess of paper again and gave a disgusted look.

"Well, then it's a good thing I came. If you were having fun I would have let you be." She pulled up a chair and sat next to him. "I don't have anything else to do at the moment anyways." She rested her chin in her hands.

Takagi sighed. "I guess we both need a little excitement then?" She nodded without looking up before she decided to change subject.

"So what is it exactly that they're having you do?" She reached around him and pulled the stack of envelopes closest to her before looking through them a bit.

"Well, for starters, I'm just copying what's on these papers and typing it into the computer." He opened a file containing at least two dozen saved sub-folders. "I'm almost done with it though. This is my last one. But after this I have to input a list of fingerprints into the database." He pointed to a disk sitting by the modem.

"Jeez, well that's no fun at all. Guess I'll just have to stick around and help out." She grinned up at him causing his face to flush.

"Y-you really don't have to do that Satou-san..."

She perked an eyebrow at him. "Eh? You saying you don't want my company?" She crossed her arms and stuck her head up childishly.

"Not at all!" He swore if his face was to get any redder he might be mistaken for a strawberry. "It's just..."

"It's just nothing." She cut him off. "Now let's get this done." She picked up the file he was copying and began to read it off to him as he typed.

--1.5 hour time laps--

Satou and Takagi slumped over on the desk, having given up for the day. The pile of files and papers was now organized into a tidy stack with a sticky note stuck to the top, saying "Filed". They had begun to work on the CD of fingerprints but there seemed to be no end to the list. Who knew CDs could hold so much information?

"Uggggg. No more." Satou grumbled. "It's already dark outside." She checked her watch. "Ah! No wonder. We've been working on this for one and a half hours. Sheesh! Let's call it quits for the night. 'Kay?"

"Satou-saaan. But we've almost done 100. We're at 99. Let's just get to 100, then we can stop." Satou gave him an irritated look. "Ahaha. I just like to stop on an even, round number is all." He turned back to his monitor and scrolled down a bit.

"Eh?" He clicked on the next name and up came a picture and a name that read _Edogawa Conan_. Satou peeked over his shoulder.

"Hmm? What's Conan been up to, I wonder." She gave a small laugh.

"I think Megure or someone decided to add him because he's been involved in a lot of cases recently. They just took his fingerprints from one of the times they used them to figure out which ones were his. You know, he touches some of the evidence sometimes." As ironic as that sounded, it was true. Sometimes he touched stuff before he found out it was evidence.

Takagi imported the fingerprint scans into the data base. Up popped a window that read /Synching data.../. This thing came up for each and every file they added so they never paid much attention to it. That is to say until it came back with an error saying _ERROR: Print already in data base. View file? [Yes] [No]_.

Both sat up straight, taken in by the sudden change in their routine.

"Do you think someone already put his prints into the system?" Takagi moved the mouse over the 'Yes' button before clicking it. It took at least 5 seconds before the pair nearly fell off the edge of their seats. Really. It was impossible, right?

The file, which should have been Edogawa Conan's, was that of _Kudou Shinichi_.

The two exchanged a glance before exchanging each others' thoughts.

"He couldn't."

"There's no way."

"Maybe someone made a mistake?"

"But fingerprints don't lie."

"But still..."

"This is beginning to sound like something out of a manga."

"It certainly does seem like it. But it has to be true, right?"

"..."

"If it is true... then that means... that Conan-kun and Kudou-kun... are the _same person_."

There were about thirty seconds of silence between them before Satou broke it.

"I'm... going to call Ran-san." She pulled out her phone.

"Eh?"

-----------------

Ran paced holes in the carpet of their apartment's living room. At a time like this, it was perfectly acceptable for her to be angry. No. Cross that. Pissed. She had been lied to for so long now and just as soon as she gets close to some answers to her questions, it slips from under her grasp. Typical. But it could be worse right? I mean, she could just be back to square one with no proof, just her crazy theory thought up by her overactive imagination.

She stopped abruptly and clenched her fist, a fiery determined look behind her eyes. No way would she let her chance go this time. She was determined to hound this one out until she could no longer keep herself upright. That's it. She walked over to the door, removing her slippers and putting on her boots and coat. She didn't care if that 'girl' was sleeping or not, she was going to be her wake up call. Ran slammed the door shut causing a picture or two to fall over from the shock, as well as a drunken Mouri improperly propped up on the table.

It took her about 15 minutes to get back over to the hospital, with the added 15 it took for her to get home last time plus her thinking time, she was pretty sure that was long enough for the 'girl' to sleep.

Checking in with the nurse at the front first, she made her way up to the room. Ran put her ear to the door but heard nothing. Not even the heart monitor was making noise. A bit worried, she slowly slid the door open and peeked inside. Her whole body went rigid at the sight of empty sheets marked with slight traces of blood droplets. _'Blood? But I thought they sealed the wound?'_

Ran's heart nearly stopped at her cell phone vibrating in her pocket. She gingerly pulled it out and placed it to her ear.

"H-hello?" She couldn't help but notice how wavery her voice sounded.

"Hi there, Ran-chan." came the voice from the other side of the device.

"S-Satou-keiji?!" She wasn't the most expected person to be hearing from at the moment. "What is it?"

"I think we need to... talk." Her voice was hard and cool, much like when she's on the job.

"Uhhh, ok." Ran was a bit taken aback.

"And it can't be on the phone. We have to talk in person. Where are you right now?" _'Right now?'_ This brought her back to the current situation.

"That's right! She's gone!" Ran unknowingly spoke her thoughts aloud, earning an obvious 'who?' in response from the police officer. "Oh! Uhhh erm n-nothing! Never mind. Oh, but right now I'm at Beika Hospital."

"Eh? What are you doing at the _hospital_?" Satou sounded a bit worried.

"Oh! Don't worry! I'm not hurt or anything. I came to see... _Conan_-kun's friend who was injured." Now that she knew it was all a facade, the use of that name gave her a rather unsettling feeling.

"Oh? Really? Which one? What happened?"

"Errr. I can tell you about it when we talk. Do you want to meet me somewhere? Or..." She shuffled her foot, feeling a bit like it would be a bad idea to get distracted right in the middle of her search for answers.

"Well, we're actually driving right now. We can come pick you up in about," there was a pause as she thought for a moment, "Five minutes, give or take a couple."

"'We?'"

"Yeah, Takagi is with me. But anyways, we'll be there in a few so meet us in the lobby. We can talk there." They said their goodbyes and Ran slipped the phone back into her pocket. She gave one sidelong glance at the untidy cold sheets before closing the door behind her. It was obvious that she wasn't there anymore, but where else could she have gone? Did she leave herself? Or was she taken? How could she even move in that condition? What if she was just putting up an act? Ran rubbed her head in frustration. Again! She had just too many questions running through her head.

This is probably why she would never be a very good detective. She just came up with more questions than she could answer herself, and then expected someone else to answer them for her. If it was /him/, he would be able to figure out everything in a short amount of time.

She checked her wrist watch before heading down to the lobby. Maybe she could ask detectives Satou-san and Takagi-san about this. Seeing as they were police officers, they should be able to help.

Ran sat down in a chair by the front doors but didn't have to wait long until the pair walked in with serious, and slightly nervous, expressions set on their faces.

They joined her in the two chairs placed in front of her own. There was a moment of silence between them before Satou decided to break the slight air of tension.

"We... found something." She began, getting straight to the point. Ran quirked an eyebrow.

"Found something? What are you talking about?" She cocked her head to the side, utterly confused. "You make it sound like you found the Missing Link or something." She laughed nervously.

Takagi and Satou exchanged looks. "Well, in a way, I guess we did find something like that." Takagi scratched his head. "Uhh... how to put this...."

"How much do you know about Conan-kun?" Satou interrupted. Ran felt her chest tighten and her ears rang for a moment, before her pounding heart brought noise back to her senses. _'What are they talking about? What is it they found? Could it be...' _

She tried to open her mouth but found her voice would not come out. Too nervous to do anything else, she guiltily looked to the side at nothing in particular.

If it wasn't for the fact that she was experienced in reading body language, the strange behavior's meaning may have gotten past her radar. Satou's eyes narrowed. _'She knows something...'_

Takagi cleared his throat, looking back to Satou, who nodded in response.

"Ran-chan. If you know something... if you know, we need to know." She leaned forward, closing some of the distance between them. She stayed silent. "It's important. This might cause some trouble." That finally got a response out of the girl.

"I-it was an accident." she mumbled nervously. "I didn't mean to find out... but I needed to know. And then I got the evidence I needed and even someone to answer my questions. But now she's gone! And I don't even know if she left herself or was taken away and this is all just so confusing." Her voice was slowly hastening and increasing in volume. Tears were also visible bubbling their way up in her eyes.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down, Ran-chan. Who is this you're talking about? Who's gone?" Satou was now crouched in front of her with her hand on her shoulder. She allowed Ran to regain some sense before having her answer the question.

"A-Ai-chan. _His_ friend. She was the one who was in the hospital but now she's gone! Earlier I came to talk to her, to ask her about what I found... she seemed hesitant, but she didn't deny it! So when I came back just a little while ago to talk to her again, her bed was empty and there were a few blood stains on it!" Satou looked back at Takagi, who seemed quite on high alert. She took a look around to make sure there were no unwanted pests eavesdropping in on their conversation. If what Ran said was true, there could be a possibility that there were some unfriendly characters still hanging around.

"So, do the doctors know where she went?"

Ran looked up, a little embarrassed. "I didn't ask anyone. But I still don't think that's the case. She was supposed to be asleep in her room at the time..." Her voice quivered.

"Well, let's assume she left, herself, for whatever reason. Where would she go?" Satou changed the subject. Ran tilted her head up in thought.

"I'm not sure. If I were her, I would probably go somewhere safe. Somewhere where I knew there wouldn't be people to question me. I'd go... home." Her eyes widened as she looked at Satou. "That's it! She must have gone back to Agasa-hakase's!" Satou smiled and nodded.

"Then shall we?" She reached a hand out to help her up. Just before they went out the automatic sliding doors, Ran felt a shiver go down her spine and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She whirled around, her eyes darting about, scanning the area for the source of negative energy.

"Ran-chan? Something wrong?" Satou turned back to her. Still not completely convinced, she shook her head.

"No, it's fine. Let's go."

-----------------

As they pulled up to the humble professor's house, Ran noticed something strange straight away.

"Hmmm? Hakase's beetle isn't here. I know he said he wasn't going anywhere today. Wonder where he is…"

They exited Satou's red sports car and made their way up the walkway to the front door.

"Ah! Look here, by the door step." Takagi pointed down to something. Said-thing was a small, and still wet, splatter of blood. "It seems we might have guessed right."

Cautiously, Ran pushed the already slightly ajar door open and squinted into the darkness of the room. Whoever had come in in such a hurry took the time to close all the shades and curtains as well as turn off all the lights.

"Ai-chan?" Ran called out into the dark abyss. "Are you here?" There was a long and bottomless silence. The three exchanged skeptical glances. Again, Ran opened her mouth to call out, but was interrupted.

"Who's there?" A deeper but still recognizable voice came from the stairs leading down to Haibara's room.

"Ai-chan? Is that you?" Ran said, a bit relieved. But that relief was short lived. The character, presumed to be Ai, gave a mock laugh.

"That child is no longer here." There was an icy dark sense of humor in her voice. Ran's face paled.

"Then… you're not Ai-chan?" Ran said a bit uneasily. Again it earned her another laugh, this one had an air of sarcasm to it.

"Oh course, because I didn't just say that."

"If you're not the girl, then who are you and what are you doing in this house?" Satou spoke up, her tone rigid and direct.

"Ah. Who am I, indeed…" a light footfall thumped up the steps pausing just at the top and giving them a blurry outline of an adult figure. They could also hear the haggard breathing indicating she wasn't in the best condition. Satou and Takagi made a move for their guns but stopped abruptly when the mystery figure held up one of her own.

"Don't even try it. We wouldn't want any trouble now would we?" A click indicated the safety had been turned off. As the figure drew closer, Ran, standing the closest to her, moved into a defensive karate pose.

"As for you, don't try that karate here. My reflexes are quite deadly with a firearm."

"What do you want?" Ran asked as calmly as she could.

"Why do people always ask that? Has it occurred to you that maybe not all criminals want something in return? But, if you want it that way, I guess I have no other choice." She took a few more steps, closing the gap between Ran and herself, but still staying out of arms' (or legs') reach of her. "Red? Or White?" She smirked evilly.

Puzzled, Ran didn't know what to say.

"Just pick one." The person was growing impatient.

"Er… red?" Ran really had no idea what was going on but decided to play along and chose her favorite color. Once again, there was a laugh, though it was much more like an evil chuckle, from the person.

"Wrong."

BANG

……………

Ran, as well as Takagi and Satou, nearly had a heart attack. She would have sworn she saw Shinichi flash before her eyes.

The person still had the gun pointed at her, and she had fired it, but sprouting from the end was a bouquet of white roses.

"Wrong." She repeated. "They're white." Ran, Satou, and Takagi all nearly deadpanned.

"W-what the hell was-" Ran was cut off when the light switch flipped on unexpectedly, causing them to jump. Agasa was standing in the doorway, a grocery bag in one of his hands, the other still positioned over the switch.

"Er… what exactly is going on?" His eyes went from the police officers to Ran and then to the other woman. Squinting his eyes, he studied the unfamiliar character over a few times before they snapped open in shock and realization. "Y-you're-!!"

The attention was once again brought back to the uninvited house guest. Now in the light, Ran could get a good look at her. She was roughly the same height as her but she had her hair cut much shorter and it was also a light cherry brown color. She wore a simple pair of black jeans and a maroon top with a black, long sleeved shrug over it. Now that she thought about it, she did resemble… Ai-chan… A LOT.

Haibara pulled the flowers out from the end of the gun. Walking over to the coffee table she placed them in a small flower vase before looking over her shoulder.

"Welcome home, professor," she said with what would be best described as a demonically pleased smile.

------------------------

_**Yo! I finally got this one out peeps :3 Thanks to my friend hallow777 for getting me back in the mood ;3 Good luck moving! Hope it's a nice big house X3**_

_**Anyways, I have been suffering from a bad case of writers' block for the past 2 months, which would explain the lack of updates. For those who read **__Kindred__**, I'm still kinda stuck for plot so if anyone has ideas, I'd love to hear them :D Maybe I'll even use them, but I already have an ending in mind so only if it doesn't conflict with it.**_

_**I was thinking of leaving you guys with the end of this chapter being the BANG, but I was nice and gave you a little more X3**_

**_THANKS ONCE AGAIN TO MY SUPER DUPER AWESOME FRIEND _**Hela Kaede **FOR EDITING MY STORY!!! CHECK OUT HER DETECTIVE CONAN FANFICS AS WELL!!!**

**_.net/u/1471713/_**


End file.
